Rhythm by Justine McLaughlin

Rhythm

You have it
I love your
Drum talk
Your meter
Your method
Your pulse
The beat
The pace
A son clave
A boss nova
A short delay
Your tempo
Doubles
Triples
It affects my balance
Your prosody
Your stresses
Long short
Short long
They command me
Beat me
Pitch, low in deliverance
High in effect
You’re a Griot
Oral
Gun
Dun
Go
Do
Pa
Ta
Your African
A Djembe
Tabla complex
My drum
Keeps you in line
In harmony
In time
We make sounds
Variations
In Length
Accentuating
The highs, lows
A flow
A wave
Symmetry
The ripples

Always an event
I clap and
You gesture me
Always in time